I decided after the concert, wehich lasted less than an hour and wasa broadcast live by the RTE, to walk back to the hotel and have some lunch before walking back to the concert hall for tonight'sa recording. The concert was good, and maybe I like Davide sop much as a conductor because we have similar musical tastes: the concert began with three movements from a film score by Irish composer Sean O'Riada that were quite beautiful and moving, with great horn solos. Then our soprano came out and sang Micaela's Act Three aria from CARMEN, which was lovely, and the orchestra played deFalla's Ritual Fire Dance, which I'd heard manyt times on recording but never live. The winds and brass were quite wonderful, and this wasa followed by 'Glitter and Be Gay,' which was where the soprano, who got a greatr ovation from the audience, crashed and burned for me. On that aria, I want Barbara Cook, who's never been surpassed; I want the lyrics, crsp diction; if you don't hear what she's singing, you've missed the joke. Perhaps a director could helpo her on what to do during the number and get her to give a little more copnsonant values to her voice. She wasn't bad; she just wasn't very good here. Following that, the strings and harp left the stage and David finished the program with Kurt Weill's Eine Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, his THREEPENNY OPERA Suite for winds, brass, piano, percussion and guitar. I loved it, but it wasn't paricularly a cup of tea to all the audience. The pianist needed to be far more aggressive and prominent in his sections and he was the weak link. Still, I had a great time. I saw several of our EILEEN orchestra players in the band: Geraldine on harp, two of the percussion boys, our Dublin producer Joe on one of the basses.
All in all, a wonderful hour. I'm off again, so keep them vibes roilling this way!
